My Always One

  A friends-to-lovers ‘lighter’ stand-alone

  ALEATHA ROMIG

  New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of the Devil’s Series, Sparrow Webs, Infidelity series, Consequences series, and Lighter Ones

  COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE INFORMATION

  MY ALWAYS ONE

  Copyright @ 2021 Romig Works, LLC

  2021 Edition

  ISBN: 978-1-947189-92-8

  Editing: Lisa Aurello

  Cover Art: Letitia Hasser at RBA Designs/ Romantic Book Affairs

  Photography: Wander Aguiar

  Formatting: Romig Works LLC

  * * *

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage and retrieval system, without the written permission from the copyright owner.

  * * *

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

  2021 Edition License

  * * *

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the appropriate retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's hard work.

  Over five years ago, my friend Georgia Cates and I decided to start an adventure: writing stories that were outside of our brand. Our endeavor was successful on many counts. It opened a world of possibilities and let us shake off the chains of expectation. Though we each wrote different titles, we ventured into that new world under one name.

  While that pen name no longer exists, it helped us expand our horizons, allowing us to try new things.

  The story you're about to read started as a short, sexy, and predictable novella written by me as Jade Sinner and entitled ASHTON – THE AGREEMENT. My reviews were good, and I learned that while writing dark twists and turns, I could also be sexy, funny, and light.

  If any part of this story seems familiar, it could be because you read the 19K-word novella a while ago. Those stories are no longer available.

  MY ALWAYS ONE is much more!

  It is now a stand-alone, full-length contemporary-romance novel.

  I hope this story makes you swoon, laugh, and finish the last page with a smile.

  I know that I did all of those things while writing it.

  Thank you for allowing me to shed the other name and embrace this side of Aleatha. Thank you for giving the lighter side of Aleatha a chance.

  I hope you enjoy MY ALWAYS ONE!

  A friends-to-lovers ‘lighter’ stand-alone

  * * *

  When we were young, Samantha Anderson was the girl down the street. For as long as I remember, she’s been my partner in crime, in adventures, and in almost everything. Sami is fun and sexy, my greatest confidant, and my best friend.

  * * *

  From early on, we vow that our relationship will never change—through thick and thin, we’ll remain always and forever in the friend zone. We will not cross that line.

  * * *

  After all, I’m not a forever kind of guy.

  * * *

  Then that line blurs.

  * * *

  We amend our agreement.

  * * *

  Best friends become friends with benefits.

  Is this new agreement the key to our future? Or will I lose my best friend?

  * * *

  MY ALWAYS ONE is a new, fun, and sexy friends-to-lovers contemporary romance. A steamy stand-alone, MY ALWAYS ONE is not connected to any other of Aleatha’s Lighter Ones and may be read on its own.

  Marshal

  Ten Years Ago

  * * *

  "You're such an ass," Sami blurts out, shaking her head. Her tone sounds angry, but her volume is still low.

  I shrug with a smirk as I heave my backpack higher on my shoulder. As we step through the front doors of our high school, I squint my eyes at the onslaught of the warm Michigan sunshine. For a few steps I think about how to answer her, what to say. If Sami were a guy, I'd have the perfect response. I'd say that I wasn't the ass, but Maura Sharpe had a fine one.

  The thing is that Sami isn't a guy; she's my best friend. I know that fact without a doubt. I also know she isn’t interested in my thoughts regarding Maura’s nice round...

  Even thinking of telling her, I imagine Sami scrunching her cute little nose and after hitting me, halfheartedly saying, Disgusting, TMI.

  Trying to avoid her manhandling—something I wouldn't take from anyone else—I start to reply when Sami purposely bumps her shoulder against mine. “I thought we had an understanding.” Her tiny frame nearly bounces me from the sidewalk.

  I grin her direction as I walk the balance beam of the curb.

  So much for my attempt to avoid her physical aggression.

  Steadying my place on the sidewalk, I narrowly miss falling to the pavement and being picked off as a car peels past, no doubt determined to leave the high school parking lot before the line backs up at the stoplight. Flashing my brightest smile, I avoid Sami’s comment and stare down at her and with a gleam in my eyes ask, "Are you trying kill me?"

  Sami shakes her head in reply and continues her interrogation. "Maura? Maura?"

  Each time she asks, repeating the name belonging to her friend and my latest conquest, her voice gets louder and the name more exaggerated. I avoid answering as we weave through the parking lot until I hit the unlock button on my key fob. With a huff, Sami goes around to the passenger side of my old truck.

  Once we're both inside, I start the engine and immediately roll down the windows. Michigan weather needs therapy. I swear it has serious multiple-personality issues—freezing one day and then sweltering the next. It’s as if the weather has as much trouble deciding what it wants as I do.

  Sami lifts her long brown hair from her neck and directs the air conditioning vent toward her before glaring my direction.

  "What do you want me to say?" I finally ask as I put the truck in reverse and begin backing out of the space, barely missing two girls walking with their heads together, too lost in their conversation to realize they're about to become roadkill.

  As my brakes squeal, one of the girls turns and glares my direction, but as soon as she recognizes my truck, her anger morphs to a smile. Her head tilts and her eyes search for mine in the side mirror.

  "Hi, Marshal," she calls with the telltale flick of her neck and a finger wave. "Call me."

  I wave at the same time I see Sami's head shake in my peripheral vision. As I ease the truck out of the parking space, I say a silent prayer that the girl in the mirror won't try to come up to my open window.

  Sami cranes her neck over her shoulder. "Isn't she a freshman?"

  "Is she? I think that means she’ll soon be a sophomore."

  "Jeez, Marshal. You really are a manwhore. You know that?"

  I lift my brows. "No, Sami, I'm not a whore. Those who practice one of the oldest professions do so to be paid. No one pays me. I willingly share my talents with those in need. I think that's called being a humanitarian. Consider it as my service to women everywhere. Maybe I should add that to my college application under the title of community service."

  Sami shakes her head. “You’ve already been accepted to Michigan State without that bit of information.” She takes in a dee
p breath. “You know, if I hadn’t known you since we were five, I don’t think I’d like you.”

  “But you have and you do,” I say with a grin.

  “I just...”

  I finally maneuver the truck out of the parking lot and onto the side streets. Hitting the gas, I pick up speed and bring a nice breeze through the open windows, helping to cool the cab. Admittedly, the acceleration works better than my AC.

  One day, I won't be driving a beat-up old truck. One day, I'll have a car that fits with my body and personality.

  "Maura's my friend," Sami says.

  "Maura's a big girl. She knew what she was doing. Actually, she knew—"

  Sami lifts her hand. "Stop. You know our deal. No details. I don't want to know about the little freshman or Maura or anyone else."

  "Well, let me just say that if we’re doing a comparison study, Maura is much more experienced than the freshman, but in the grand scheme, she can learn a bit too."

  "Noted. But you know that Maura just broke up with Matt.” Sami shakes her head. “And right before prom. Seriously, Marsh, the last thing she needs is you using her for a one-night stand."

  I reach over and squeeze Sami's leg. "You know me. I don't use girls. They come to me."

  "Because you're so freaking fantastic in the sack?"

  My cheek rises, creating my cocky, lopsided signature grin. "That is the word on the street."

  “Word on the street is Matt’s going to kick your ass.”

  I can’t help but scoff. “Right. I’d love to see him try. Besides, I got the whole story. Maura broke up with him because she found out he was doing Laura.”

  Sami turns with her mouth agape. “Laura? Cheerleader Laura? Debate team Laura?”

  I nod.

  “Maura told me he cheated, but not with who.”

  “I guess girls are just willing to share anything to elicit my sympathy favors.”

  She sighs and lays her head against the seat. "Is that all you want out of life?"

  I look over at my best friend. There's something about Sami that makes her different than every other girl I've ever known. Maybe it's that we've known each other since we were kids, or that we know everything about one another, or maybe that we swore never to lie to one another, and we haven't. I'm not sure of the reason, but for the first time since I was balls deep in Maura Sharpe, I feel a little bad about it.

  Which is strange.

  I never feel regret.

  Euphoria, an amazing, fantastic release, yes, but never regret.

  "Sami, what is it?"

  She turns toward the open window, her hair blowing in the breeze, and takes a minute before she answers. "I think it's that we're graduating in a few weeks. Things are changing. Look at us. We're going off to two different colleges, and we have friends getting married."

  "We also have friends with kids on the way. Do you want that to be you?"

  Sami looks at me for a minute and then turns back to the open window. "Someday."

  "Someday, but not now. Not at eighteen."

  After another sigh, she leans back against the seat. In the few seconds that passed, her fun smile, the one that has gotten us both in trouble more times than I can count, is back. "Then, Mr. Michaels, keep your cock in your pants."

  "Don't worry. I have a lifetime supply of wraps. I'm well practiced at safe sex."

  “That’s good to know, but some people think of it as more than sex.”

  “Define it,” I say with a knowing grin. When she doesn’t answer, I do. “It is sex, Sami. No strings. It’s my way of life.”

  “Do you think about the girl?”

  “Of course. I’m not a monster. I also don’t give off any false vibes of commitment.”

  “Well, for your information, Maura has been texting me all day. She's sure she's in love. She knows you’re going stag to the prom and has a plan that includes forever.” I start to talk, but Sami is on a roll. “And by the way, according to her, you're the best." Her voice does this sing-song thing when she relays Maura's messages.

  "Oh, I am the best, but love and forever? No way." I shake my head. "I told her the same thing I tell them all: I'm not a commitment kind of guy."

  "She mentioned that," Sami says. "She also asked me about your favorite color. Your favorite food. Your favorite TV show...on and on. She's got it bad."

  I bypass the street to our neighborhood and keep driving.

  As familiar scenes pass by the truck windows, I chastise myself.

  I knew better than to do it with Sami’s friend...that was our understanding. Sami’s connection makes it harder to walk away. The thing is that I didn’t find Maura or go looking for her.

  She found me.

  I should have followed my gut and told Maura no.

  In my defense, I did—the first time and second. A man can only say no so many times. And Maura was persistent. She also spoke not only to my good sense but to another part of my anatomy—the part that has a mind of its own.

  "Where are we going?" Sami asks as she looks out at the freshly cultivated fields.

  "How about coffee? We can go to the shop in Spencer and avoid friends." Yes, I mean Maura.

  Sami shakes her head. "No, I'm broke."

  "I'll buy," I offer, but we both know I don’t have much money either.

  "No. How about the lake?” She smiles up at the blue sky. “It's too nice to be inside."

  I nod, seeing the blue sky and sunshine.

  A few minutes and a few dirt roads later, we’re beyond the Johnson city limits. I pull down a well-traveled lane and we come to a stop. Parking, I turn off my truck. The lake Sami mentioned isn't big. It isn’t one surrounded by homes or summer cottages. The best part of it is that it's kind of isolated. The entire lake is located on private property owned by some guy who lives far away. By the look of the old gate permanently removed from its hinges, he hasn’t been here in years, maybe decades.

  Over time, the lake has become one of the hangouts for local teenagers. It's not just used by teenagers though. Dads bring their kids here to fish all year round. Because of its size, it freezes to a safe thickness for ice fishing, and in the warmer weather they wade into the water or stand on the shore. In the heat of the summer, families who don’t have their own cottages or lake access come here to swim.

  We won’t be swimming. Not today.

  This is only mid-May and it's too early in the year. The water would be freezing cold.

  I lead as we walk through the tall grass to the edge of the lake and up an embankment to some high rocks. It's the perfect spot. From this height you can see down into the depths of the dark water and over to the lane. No one can sneak up on you here, and you can see on forever. It’s like being on the top of the world.

  "Truth or dare," I say once we both settle on the warm rock.

  Sami sways her shoulders back and forth as she contemplates my question. "Truth. You know I'd never lie to you."

  "Are you still holding out?"

  She smiles with her eyes gazing down. "Do you mean have I put out yet?"

  "I mean, has Todd gotten in your pants yet?"

  "Those are two different questions. Pick one."

  My neck straightens and my chest aches a little at the thought of that dickhead with his hands down Sami's shorts. After all, I’m a guy, and I know how guys can be. I don’t like the idea of anyone doing that to her.

  I guess I feel protective of her.

  Then I remind myself that Sami is my friend. What she does is her business, not mine. I have no right to expect her to stay a virgin when I'm screwing every other girl out there. "First one," I say, asking if she’s still a virgin.

  "I still am, but I don't think it can last much longer."

  I sit taller. "Sami, if that ass is pressuring you..."

  "That’s not what I mean. I mean, I think I want to. You yourself boasted of Maura’s expertise. It makes me think that I’m the last one out there, a unicorn.”

  “Aren’t unicorns a go
od thing?” I smile at my memories. “I remember this freckled little girl who had unicorn wallpaper in her bedroom.”

  “For the record, you know I hated that wallpaper.”

  “Don’t do prom night, Sami. It’s too cliché.”

  “That’s what Maura said.”

  Oh great.

  Sami went on, “I just don't know if Todd’s the forever kind of guy. I want forever, but I also want...” She grins. “College and adventure.” She leans back on her arms and looks up at the crystal blue sky. “I don’t know what I want.”

  “We don’t have to decide right now, do we?”

  “Now, it’s your turn,” she says.

  Sitting up and leaning near the edge, I peer down at the water. The lake is easily twenty feet below us. In the summer there were many times we'd jumped from this very spot into the cool spring-fed lake below. “Give it your best shot.”

  "Okay. Truth or dare?”

  I look up at her sparkling green eyes and realize that she's thinking the same thing—the water. I can practically see her consider getting up and jumping or making me jump. She would do it too, clothes and all. It’s part of what I love about her.

  It's not that I don't want to jump. If it were summer and twenty degrees warmer, I wouldn't hesitate, but well, my better sense replies, "Truth."

  Her lips come together for a moment before she smiles. “Do you think you'll ever be a forever kind of guy?”

  Shit! That isn't what I expected.

  I sigh as I lay back on the warm rock and stretch out my legs. “Truth?”

  “Always.”

  “I really don't see forever in my future. I’m selfish and I know that. I don’t have any desire to change. I don't see me being committed to anyone but myself. I know that makes me sound like an ass, and I probably am, but forever is a really long time."